Nothing Phone (2) vs iPhone 14 Plus speed test: is the Nothing smartphone faster?

Nothing Phone (2) is the latest flagship offering from Nothing and is a huge upgrade over the Phone (1) from last year, especially with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. The phone has been receiving positive reviews from the experts so far. Now, folks at PhoneBuff in a YouTube video have done a speed test between the Nothing Phone (2) and iPhone 14 Plus. The results of the video are quite interesting.

Nothing Phone (2) vs iPhone 14 Plus speed test results

As said, the Nothing Phone (2) ships with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset coupled with up to 12GB RAM, while the iPhone 14 Plus comes with the A15 Bionic chipset paired with 6GB RAM. iPhones are known for their optimised user interface that offers smoother animations and scrolling experience, while Nothing OS 2.0 is a clean bloatware-free Android UI from Nothing.

The YouTube video starts off by comparing the specifications and the prices. The Nothing Phone (2) costs Rs 44,999, while the iPhone 14 Plus is priced at 79,999 (much lower during sales). The video shows the speed at which certain apps and games open on both phones. Some of the applications tested include Facebook, Starbucks, MS Word, Excel, Camera, Snapseed, Safari, Subway Surfers, Spotify, Espn, Disney+, Amazon, and others.

Interestingly, Nothing Phone (2) took the initial lead as it opened Facebook, Starbucks, and MS Word apps faster than the iPhone 14 Plus. The speed test includes opening Camera app and flipping to front camera mode and recording a selfie clip. In this, the iPhone 14 Plus is a tad faster. In the Snapseed app, the Nothing Phone (2) not only imported the high-resolution picture faster but was also quick to process the image. 

The Nothing Phone (2) is marginally faster in opening each app and game compared to iPhone 14 Plus. The former finished lap 1 in just 2 mins and 1 second, while the iPhone 14 Plus took 4 seconds more and finished the round in just 2 minutes and 5 seconds. The speed test then proceeds to the RAM management segment to see which phone has retained the apps in memory. Both phones managed to retain apps in the memory but the iPhone 14 Plus was able to load the Excel sheet again.

The RAM management round lasted 49 seconds on the Nothing Phone (2), while the iPhone 14 Plus took 51 seconds of time. The combined duration of both tests is 2 minutes 50 seconds and 2 minutes 56 minutes, respectively. With 6 seconds lead, Nothing Phone (2) becomes the winner.

The video suggests the Nothing Phone (2) is marginally faster than the iPhone 14 Plus, which is an impressive feat considering how good Apple’s A15 Bionic chipset is. It is clear that the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is a drastic improvement over the Snapdragon 778G+ that powered the Nothing Phone (1).